AFC heavyweights battle as Ravens host Texans

(Sports Network) - Alongside linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed helped
define a Baltimore Ravens defense that won a pair of championships and was
always regarded as one of the best in the league.

Last season's Super Bowl victory marked the end of the road as teammates for
Reed and Lewis. The two will get a chance to reunite this Sunday, though, when
Reed's
Houston Texans battle the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium after Lewis is inducted
into Baltimore's Ring of Honor.

While Lewis retired after capping his 17-year career with another title, Reed
joined the Texans as an unrestricted free agent in March. He has yet to play
this season as he recovers from offseason hip surgery, but Houston head coach
Gary Kubiak noted on Monday that Reed was very close to playing in Sunday's
30-24 overtime victory against Tennessee.

The 35-year-old Reed was the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year and a nine-time
Pro Bowl selection over 11 seasons with the Ravens. He logged 606 tackles, six
sacks and 61 interceptions, returning seven for touchdowns.

"We'll have to assume that he is going to play. We'd be surprised if he didn't
play in this game, and we'll have to assume he's going to play the way he's
played in the past," said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

Lewis, now an analyst for ESPN, will be honored prior to Sunday's game. The
MVP of Super Bowl XXXV won a pair of Defensive Player of the Year awards over
his career, spent entirely with Baltimore, and logged 41 1/2 sacks, 31
interceptions and 13 Pro Bowl selections.

The Ravens hope that Lewis' presence will spark them against the Texans, who
have needed to rally in both of their wins this season. After coming back from
a club-record 21 points down in Week 1 to defeat San Diego, Houston got a one-
yard touchdown run and two-point conversion from Arian Foster with 1:53 left
in the fourth quarter this past weekend to force overtime against the Titans.

The Texans then drove down the field in the bonus frame and secured their four
straight 2-0 start when quarterback Matt Schaub found DeAndre Hopkins in the
back of the end zone from three yards out.

"It was a great ball by Schaub. He put it in the perfect position for me to go
up and catch it," Hopkins said. "We practice that basically every day, the
wide receivers. And practice makes perfect."

Schaub threw for 298 yards with three touchdowns and was picked off twice,
while Hopkins made seven catches for 117 yards. He stepped up with No. 1
wideout Andre Johnson out with a concussion suffered late in the fourth
quarter.

"It's just great character for us to find a way to win two weeks in a row like
that," said Kubiak, whose club won its first five games last year. "Obviously,
you're not going to get away with that in this league. I think this is a very
good football team that we just played. I think they played extremely well.
And we are very fortunate to get out of here with another win today."

Johnson caught eight passes for 76 yards before his exit and Kubiak said on
Monday that his wideout's status for this game won't be determined until later
in the week as he follows concussion protocol.

"But I think, after the game talking to him and seeing where he's at today,
obviously he's doing really well," Kubiak added. "I would expect the progress
to go pretty quickly if it goes like it has the last 24 hours."

The Ravens also lost a key player to injury on Sunday as Ray Rice left a 14-6
win over the Cleveland Browns to a hip flexor strain in the fourth quarter.

Rice caught three passes and ran for 36 yards on 13 carries before leaving. He
did not undergo an MRI on the injury, though, and Harbaugh said on Monday that
he would probably rest Rice in practice this week and then see how he is on
the weekend.

"That's the indication, that it's not anything that's really serious," said
the Ravens coach. "They would be looking at it if they thought it was. So,
we'll just be day-to-day with him."

Quarterback Joe Flacco was on the field Sunday despite his wife giving birth
to the couple's second child hours earlier and helped the Ravens rally from a
6-0 halftime deficit. He threw for 211 yards, including a five-yard TD pass to
wide receiver Marlon Brown in the fourth quarter.

He completed third-down passes of 16 and 18 yards on Baltimore's last scoring
drive.

"Anytime you have a child, it's one of your best days," Flacco said
afterwards. "The game didn't go exactly how we wanted it to, but that's how
we've won football games around here. We're able to win like this, and
sometimes you have to do it in an ugly way."

Following a 49-27 rout at the hands of Denver to begin the season, the Ravens
avoided their first 0-2 start since 2005 under Brian Billick.

"We came into the locker room (at halftime), sat down and said we have to get
it together and get this running game going. Because once the running game
gets going, the passing game gets going," said Ravens back Bernard Pierce, who
ran for a five-yard score in the third quarter.

"We took a deep breath, got it together and went back out there and made
plays."

The Ravens won each of their first five regular-season games against the
Texans franchise before Houston managed a 43-13 on Oct. 21 of last year.
Foster ran for 98 yards and scored twice, while Schaub threw for 256 yards
with a pair of touchdowns.

Flacco was held to 147 yards passing, was sacked four times and picked off
twice.

The Ravens have won both of their regular-season games at home versus the
Texans and also secured a victory over Houston in Baltimore during the
playoffs on Jan 15, 2012 to end the Texans' first trip to the postseason.

Reed had a late interception in the game to help seal the win for the Ravens.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

After a decade of having Reed on their side, the Ravens for the first time
will have to game plan around the star safety. Harbaugh said that will be
difficult to do given that Reed has yet to play this season for the Texans.

"It's a little tougher because we haven't seen him on tape, so we really don't
know how he fits in their defense. We'll have to fit him into their scheme,
which in a lot of ways is similar to what we've done here. So, it shouldn't be
too hard to figure out where he's going to be and just envision him out there
playing the way he played for us all those years," noted Harbaugh.

Reed may not be the player he once was, but a return to Baltimore should add
some extra energy to his legs, assuming he can get on the field.

"No, there's nothing specific I'm looking for," Kubiak said in regards to what
it would take to declare Reed ready to play. "I think it's a combination of
everybody looking for those explosive movements from the middle of the field
to the sideline, breaking on the ball. Those type of things. To where it looks
the way it has in the past and the way Ed knows it's supposed to look."

Reed had to feel bad for his former teammates after they were lit up by
Denver's Peyton Manning in Week 1. Baltimore gave up seven touchdown passes to
Manning and 510 yards in total to the Broncos offense, but held the less-
talented Browns to 259 yards while keeping the club out of the end zone.

The Ravens were credited with five sacks versus Cleveland, getting one each
from linebackers Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs and 1 1/2 from Daryl Smith.

"You know, you've got to have a short memory. You definitely don't want to
give up 49 points every week," Suggs said. "First things first, get the win
and you've got to protect your home. You win your home games and you've got a
good chance of making the playoffs and doing some great things."

The Texans also managed to put together a solid effort on defense in Week 2,
holding the Titans to 248 yards. Defensive end J.J. Watt and linebacker Brian
Cushing both had two sacks after failing to get the quarterback in Week 1.

But the duo have an excellent skill set to get to the quarterback, so the
Ravens will need to stick to their ground game regardless of Rice's health.
That is fine with Harbaugh, who has no problem giving the ball to the 218-
pound second-year back Pierce.

"We've had confidence in Bernard since, really, the day he got here and
started practicing, because he showed what he's all about. He continues to get
better," said Harbaugh, noting his improvement in pass protection.

"He's becoming a complete back, and we're just very fortunate to have him on
our team."

The Texans also are leaning on a two-back system with Foster and Ben Tate, but
may have found another weapon in the rookie Hopkins, a first-round pick out of
Clemson.

"We've been seeing it from (Johnson) for years, so you kind of just start
taking greatness for granted. And then for the young boy (Hopkins) to go in
there -- we've been seeing it since he got here -- what kind of hands he has
and he just continues to impress," noted Foster.

The Texans saw kicker Randy Bullock miss three field goals versus the Titans,
including a potential game-winner late in the fourth. That 46-year-old miss
came after he failed to convert on a pair of 50-yard tries.

While admitting that Bullock has got to make kicks late to win the game, he
did offer confidence in the 23-year-old and said the offense needs to get him
closer.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Ravens have had their Texans' number since the latter joined the NFL, but
the tide may be turning in this series. Baltimore has certainly looked like a
team with a Super Bowl hangover as it adjusts to the offseason roster
overhaul.

While the Texans have had to rally in back-to-back weeks, they have been
scoring points. The Ravens may have some extra juice due to Lewis' presence
and the home crowd behind them, but a hampered Rice alters the game plan of a
club that isn't deep at receiver and is getting little production from the
tight end spot.

Johnson's status is concerning for Schaub, but he has plenty of other options
as he tries to beat the Ravens' rush.